Was the Oxford Dictionary Watching Kamala Interviews When It Chose Its 2024 “Word of the Year”?

Every time, the staff at the Oxford University Press chooses a” Word of the Year” based on criteria like user seats, “worldwide people discussion”, and “analysis of speech data”. The term frequently reflects the previous year’s ethos. But, when I saw that Oxford chose “brain fester” for 2024, I wondered if the dictionary’s scholars had watched one too many conversations with Kamala Harris. Since I spent a few months watching those inexplicable expression salads, I must admit that I felt like my brain was rotting. &nbsp,

Yeah, according to Oxford, the phrase “gained new fame this year as a name used to address concerns about the effects of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality website content, especially on social media,” “gained new notoriety this year.” Usage of the term apparently rose 230 % between 2023 and 2024. The word is defined by Oxford as” Supposed disintegration of a child’s mental or intellectual position, especially when consumption of stuff, particularly online, is viewed as trivial or unchallenging.” Furthermore: something characterized as likely to lead to such decay”. &nbsp,

While you might consider of the word as a modern technology, it actually dates back to the 19th century. It was first used in printing in 1854, in Henry David Thoreau’s text” Walden”, which is a typical autobiography about his time spent living a simple life in a room on Walden Pond in Massachusetts. In Thoreau’s situation, it’s used to condemn the fact that people favor basic ideas over sophisticated types, according to Oxford. While England tries to treat potato rot, it makes no attempt to treat brain rot, which affects both people in great numbers and is mortally prevalent? the text reads. &nbsp,

” Head fester” wasn’t the only word on Oxford’s small list. Other contenders included “demure”, “dynamic pricing”, “lore”, “romantasy”, and” slop”. The phrase “demure” became popular when a girl named Jools Lebron started using it on TikTok to explain her outfit and makeup decisions. Oxford uses the term “dynamic sales” to describe an increase in dynamic prices for items like concert tickets as its justification. &nbsp,

The word “lore” is frequently used to describe the events and details surrounding everything from a star to a guide to a person’s own personal history, according to Oxford, and it has seen an increase in use this year. ” Romantasy” is a book genre that is often talked about on TikTok, and Oxford suggests it has become “mainstream” this year. And” slop” refers to low-quality AI-generated content. &nbsp,

In case you were wondering, 2023’s word was “rizz”, which Oxford described as” a colloquial noun, defined as ‘ style, charm, or attractiveness, the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner'”.

If I’m being fair, I’ve never really used any of these phrases in dialogue. I also don’t use TikTok because I think it will cause me “brain rot,” and it seems like many of these decisions were influenced by the social media platform. &nbsp,

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